What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?
I was bought “A Year of Reading Aloud” as a gift last Christmas. It is an anthology of 52 poems; with the idea of memorising one per week. Six months on I have just finished memorising my first poem!
I was drawn to this because of its emphasis on pausing and being observant.
Leisure (1911)
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can,
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
W. H. Davies (1871-1940)
(© ‘Leisure’ from Songs of Joy and Others, 1911.)
A Year of Reading Allowed © Georgina Rodgers 2018, published Yellow Kite, ISBN 978-1-473-6-70891)
Ju, June 2019
Photo by George Hiles on Unsplash
reproduced for non commercial purposes in recommendation of the book 'A Year of Reading Allowed'
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We have no time to stand and stare, or we take no time to stand and stare. I believe just a bit of reflective thought reveals the truth in the second statement. Yes, we are hurried and worried. I am, too. Of course we are pushed by our outer environment and our inner environment. I’m here because I believe we can push back together and create more space for one another.
Beautiful poem! And this was written more than 100 years ago! It shows that it is not just an issue of our days, but that their are deeper causes for missing the beauty and the details in our daily walk that would enrich our lives so much. I agree it is time to push back with all we can!
What a great idea to memorise poetry – W.H. Davies would surely be happy about that! This is a practical way to “stand and stare” and “turn at Beauty’s glance”. And memorising one poem every 6 months or so sounds like just the right tempo for absorbing its message.
W.H. Davies’ beautiful poem reminds me of Mary Oliver’s works emphasizing paying attention, being alert and present to what is at hand. How good it is to be reminded of the need to do this! And your commitment to memorizing poems is challenging to me…perhaps in the new year to come?!?
What a great poem and also photo that aptly depicts it. Sometimes little children are our best teachers. I will never forget the time I was walking with my (not yet three year old) grandson. All of a sudden with excitement in his voice he stopped walking and motioned for me to sit down. He had spotted some ants busily at work and he wanted to watch them. We sat and stared at them for several minutes. He asked me “what they doing?” “where they going?” He was totally mesmerized. I have not forgotten the message that came home to me that day to not get too busy to notice “small things”. Thanks for the poem, another reminder.